NOTE: * denotes urgency legislation
SB 176 (Alquist-D) - Household Hazardous Waste Prohibits state agencies from providing information on household hazardous substances or safer substitutes for products that contain hazardous substances unless the information is competent and reliable. Requires the Integrated Waste Management Board to evaluate the potential of proposed substitutes to be accidentally ingested or to pose other hazards to human health and safety. (Failed passage in Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee) SB 324 (Calderon-D) - Hazardous Materials: Mediation- Arbitration Establishes a voluntary mediation process which provides for the identification and notification of potential liability between present property owners of contaminated property and the parties the present owners determine may be responsible for the contamination. Vetoed by the Governor SB 480 (Alquist-D) - Low-Level Radioactive Waste Requires that as a condition of maintaining a license for a low- level radioactive waste disposal facility, the Department of Health Services shall require the operator of the low-level radioactive waste disposal facility to obtain and maintain the maximum nuclear liability insurance “generally available” for the site. Requires that the policy shall provide that the operator of the site, generators of low-level radioactive waste utilizing the site, and the State of California are covered as insured entities for any covered third-party liability costs that the insured entities may incur in connection with the operation of the facility. (Died in Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee) SB 562 (Thompson-D) - Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Implements the Thompson-Richter Underground Storage Tank Reform Act and makes a number of significant changes to the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Cleanup program which is administered by the State Water Resources Control Board. Some of the significant changes include: authorizing a joint claim for commingled plumes to be submitted for reimbursement of corrective action costs; allocating $10 million from the 1996 Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund Budget Act appropriation to pay commingled plume claims; and expanding the pool of eligible UST claim applicants to include persons who own property on which a prior UST cleanup has been completed, and additional cleanup is now required due to newly discovered contamination. Chapter 611, Statutes of 1996 SB 804 (Monteith-R) - Hazardous Materials: Agriculture Exempts a business operating a farm for purposes of cultivating the soil or raising any agricultural or horticultural commodity from filing a business plan unless it is determined, as specified, that the business poses a substantial danger of an accidental release of a hazardous material and the business does not provide specified information. (Failed passage in Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee) SB 917 (Kelley-R) - Hazardous Substances Requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection to review and revise cleanup procedures and standards for all state laws that are applicable to the cleanup of sites contaminated by hazardous substances, as specified. (Died in Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee) SB 1063 (Peace-D) - Non-RCRA Hazardous Waste: Transport and Handling: Zinc Requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control to review by March 31, 1997 the various ways that waste not subject to the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (non-RCRA waste) is currently regulated when it is transported from its place of generation to a transfer or consolidation site, before being shipped to its final treatment, recycling or disposal destination. Also requires the department, by July 1, 1997, to evaluate the hazardous waste classification criteria as it pertains to zinc- containing waste streams, and make appropriate regulatory changes. Chapter 437, Statutes of 1996 SB 1116 (Monteith-R) - Air Toxics “Hot Spots” Modifies the Air Toxics “Hot Spots” Information and Assessment Act to eliminate reporting requirements for specified facilities and reduce fees used to support the program. (Died in Senate Appropriations Committee) SB 1133 (Wright-R) - Environmental Protection: Hazardous Waste Establishes a petition process allowing any person to petition for the review of a regulation adopted by the Department of Toxic Substances Control that classifies as a non-federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act waste. (Died in Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee) SB 1168 (Rogers-R) - Wells: Licensed Contractors Provides that a C-57 Water Well Contractor's License is not needed for the construction, alteration, destruction, or abandonment of a water well, cathodic protection well, or monitoring well, if the person responsible for the task is an employee of the County of Inyo or the City of Los Angeles acting within the scope of his or her duties to construct, alter, destroy, or abandon a monitoring well or to abandon a water well located within the Owens Valley Groundwater Basin. (Failed passage in Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee) SB 1285 (Killea-I) - Hazardous Materials Liability Immunizes lenders and fiduciaries from liability resulting from the release of hazardous materials on property in which they have a legal interest, as specified. Chapter 612, Statutes of 1996 SB 1295 (Wright-R) - Hazardous Waste Fees Exempts any state or local agency or its contractors from hazardous waste fees associated with the construction of a public transportation system. (Died in Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee) SB 1417* (Kelley-R) - Underground Storage Tanks: City of Blythe Repeals the City of Blythe Environmental Remediation Demonstration Project established to address the problem of cleaning up commingled contamination from multiple leaking underground storage tanks in the city because the goals and objectives have been accomplished; permits the city to move from the investigative phase to the cleanup phase under the terms of the commingled plume account language contained within SB 562 (Thompson); and immunizes the city and its employees from liability with respect to the cleanup or corrective action of an unauthorized release pursuant to the project. Chapter 614, Statutes of 1996 SB 1425 (Kelley-R) - Hazardous Substance Cleanup: Redevelopment Agencies Allows a local enforcement agency or certified unified program agency to serve as the designated lead agency for oversight of the cleanup of hazardous wastes by redevelopment agencies. Chapter 623, Statutes of 1996 SB 1532 (Wright-R) - Hazardous Waste: Generator Fees Clarifies that a hazardous waste generator that receives a credit for a facility fee is also exempt from the generator fee. Chapter 259, Statutes of 1996 SB 1598 (Wright-R) - Hazardous Waste: Environmental Assessments Provides specified generators or processors of hazardous waste (who were authorized to operate on or before January 1, 1996) with 6 additional months (to July 1, 1997) for completing and submitting a Phase 1 environmental assessment to the Department of Toxic Substances Control or a certified unified program agency. The January 1, 1997 deadline would not change for those operators who were authorized to operate after January 1, 1996. (Died in Senate Appropriations Committee) SB 1648 (Wright-R) - Hazardous Waste: Petroleum Contaminated Debris Exempts from regulation under the hazardous waste control laws any debris that is contaminated with petroleum or any of its fractions, as specified. Chapter 214, Statutes of 1996 SB 1706 (Wright-R) - Hazardous Waste: Ash and Residues: Interim Status Makes various revisions to laws pertaining to hazardous waste including variance for reclaimed commodity-like material, exemption of biomass ash from a specified pH test, and termination of interim status for failure to perform a phase I assessment or a financial assurance. Chapter 962, Statutes of 1996 SB 1757 (Calderon-D) - Hazardous Waste Makes various changes to the Department of Toxic Substances Control's hazardous waste regulatory and site mitigation programs. Some of the significant changes include: (1) clarifying the extent to which the department may grant a variance from federal land disposal restrictions for hazardous waste regulated under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and (2) revising the definition of "response costs" for responsible parties involved with the Expedited Site Remediation Program. Chapter 632, Statutes of 1996 SB 1824* (Costa-D) - Unified Program Agencies: Surcharge Repeals the state surcharge for all certified unified program agencies (CUPA) on January 1, 1998. Revises provisions of the unified program which authorizes the Secretary of Environmental Protection to waive the surcharge to instead allow a CUPA to request such a waiver, thus including cities and local agencies, in addition to counties, within the waiver provision, until January 1, 1998. (Died in Senate Appropriations Committee) SB 1889 (Calderon-D) - Hazardous Waste: Accidental Release Redrafts the California Risk Management and Prevention Program for accidental releases of regulated substances to conform to the recently promulgated federal accident prevention program while retaining portions of the California program. Chapter 715, Statutes of 1996 SB 1966 (Wright-R) - Medical Waste Makes a technical cleanup change in the Medical Waste Management Act, moves the regulation of specified waste pharmaceuticals from the hazardous waste program to the medical waste program, and reenacts the small quantity generator fee mistakenly repealed in 1995. Chapter 536, Statutes of 1996 SB 1979 (O'Connell-D) - Used Oil Recycling Makes a number of changes to the used oil regulatory law and to the Oil Recycling Enhancement Act to: eliminate a used oil testing requirement that was mistakenly imposed on small used oil collection centers by AB 3582 (Richter), Chapter 1154 of 1994; establish an emphasis on funding research into demonstration projects for collection technologies; develop uses for products resulting from the recycling of used oil; and make technical, cleanup changes to existing code sections. Chapter 901, Statutes of 1996 AB 42 (Baca-D) - Risk Management and Prevention Program Redraws the jurisdictional boundaries that now allow local administering agencies to oversee, and air quality districts to regulate, the use and handling of chemicals in order to prevent accidental releases that are hazardous to the public. Leaves the authority of local administering agencies intact, prohibits the air quality districts from regulating the use and handling of acutely hazardous materials in order to prevent accidents, designates the Office of Emergency Services as the only agency that may adopt general regulations in this area and creates a new petition process that citizens and other agencies may use when they believe that the accident risks associated with the use and handling of acutely hazardous materials are not adequately regulated. (Died in Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee) AB 348 (Woods-R) - Underground Storage Tanks Requires the State Water Resources Control Board to categorize specified joint applicant leaking underground storage tank claims at the priority level that is one level higher than the claim would otherwise be classified. Sunsets on January 1, 1999. (Died on Assembly Inactive File) AB 349 (Escutia-D) - Hazardous Liquid Pipelines Requires hazardous liquid pipeline operators to submit to the State Fire Marshal an inspection, maintenance, improvement or replacement assessment of those pipelines built before January 1, 1960 and those installed after January 1, 1960. Requires the State Fire Marshal, in coordination with specified state agencies, to develop a plan for developing a comprehensive data base of pipeline information that would be available in compatible, interactive computer formats. Chapter 973, Statutes of 1996 AB 403 (Richter-R) - Underground Storage Tanks: Repair or Upgrade Redefines the circumstances by which a permit to repair or upgrade an underground storage tank could be denied by a local enforcement agency or regional board. Also specifies the deadline for issuing the permit (within 30 days from the receipt of completed application), and authorizes a local agency or regional board to assess a fee to recover its actual oversight costs. (Died in Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee) AB 468 (Vasconcellos-D) - Hazardous Waste: Source Reduction Prohibits the Department of Toxic Substances Control from requiring any generator who is implementing a source reduction review and plan to modify the facility's permit and allows generators who have achieved a source reduction of hazardous waste of at least 33% to only prepare a source reduction evaluation summary in lieu of a full plan. (Died in Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee) AB 563 (Harvey-R) - Water Quality: Waste Discharge Excludes a local public entity from liability for costs or damages which result from release of hazardous materials on property in which a perfected right-of-way is located, unless the release was caused by acts of omission, exacerbation, or impeding cleanup or abatement by that public entity. (Failed passage in Assembly Appropriations Committee) AB 564 (Cannella-D) - Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Exemption Exempts low priority facilities from the air toxics "hot spots" program unless certain circumstances occur. Exempts medium priority facilities from annual fee requirements under the program in lieu of 4-year inventory update report filing fees. Doubles the period of time available to an air quality district to review and approve facility health risk assessments, from 180 days to 1 year. Chapter 602, Statutes of 1996 AB 602 (Ducheny-D) - Hazardous Substance: Treble Damages Adds a provision to the State Water Pollution Cleanup and Abatement Account in the State Water Quality Control Fund which would authorize the deposit of 1/2 of any treble damages awarded to a responsible party following recovery from a contribution defendant who has failed or refused to comply with any such order or agreement issued by a regional board. (Died in Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee) AB 644 (Richter-R) - Non-RCRA Hazardous Waste Requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control, by January 1, 1999, to evaluate the difference between the regulations adopted pursuant to the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 and the criteria, guidelines, and testing requirements adopted pursuant to the state hazardous waste control laws, make specified determinations concerning those regulations, and adopt, amend, or repeal regulations in accordance with those determinations. (Died on Assembly Inactive File) AB 645 (Frusetta-R) - Hazardous Waste Facilities: Disposal and Generator Fees Authorizes the Department of Toxic Substances Control to adopt regulations exempting victims of disaster from the hazardous waste disposal and generator fees if the hazardous waste is generated in a geographical area identified in a state of emergency proclamation by the Governor, the hazardous waste is generated when property owned or controlled by the victim is damaged or destroyed as a result of the disaster, the hazardous waste is not routinely produced or managed, as specified, and the victim meets any other condition or limitation specified by the department. Chapter 688, Statutes of 1996 AB 971 (Sher-D) - Low-Level Radioactive Waste Establishes a Low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLRW) Disposal Site Remediation Fund for costs of remediation or response costs to the state associated with the operation of a regional disposal facility for the Southwestern LLRW Disposal Compact. Requires a surcharge imposed on generators of waste disposed so that the fund contains $15 million within 10 years. (Failed passage in Assembly Natural Resources Committee) AB 1096 (Ducheny-D) - Dry Cleaning Facilities Enacts the Soil and Groundwater Reclamation and Protection Act of 1996. Requires persons supplying dry cleaning solvent to dry cleaning facilities to pay a fee for deposit in a trust fund for loans to local agencies to investigate soil and groundwater contamination by solvents and grants to implement response plans. Requires the State Water Resources Control Board to establish 2 priority lists of contaminated sites. Prohibits dry cleaning facility operators from discharging dry cleaning solvents into a sewer or septic system (Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee) AB 1328 (Olberg-R) - Hazardous Substances: Fees Exempts a facility from a hazardous waste facilities fee if an initial hazardous waste facilities permit application or hazardous waste facilities permit renewal request has not received final action within one or more years, until final action is taken on the permit application or renewal request. (Died in Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee) AB 1530* (Richter-R) - Hazardous Waste: Batteries Provides that the Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act (P.L. 104-142) shall be deemed to be the law of this state with regard to the easy removability, environmental labeling, collection, storage, or transportation of federally regulated batteries. States that it is the intent of the bill to make the necessary changes in state law to allow the Department of Toxic Substances Control to seek and maintain the approval of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection agency to implement the requirements of the Act. Chapter 575, Statutes of 1996 AB 1651 (Richter-R) - Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Cost Recovery Enacts a set of requirements governing the Department of Toxic Substances Control's procedures for billing oversight costs pertaining to corrective action, state Superfund and a pilot program established by the California Expedited Remedial Action Reform Act of 1994. Chapter 576, Statutes of 1996 . AB 1854 (Sher-D) - Undergound Storage Tank Violations Increases fines and penalties for violations of the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Law. (Failed passage in Assembly Appropriations Committee) AB 1909 (Campbell-D) - Cement Manufacturing Until January 1, 2000, requires a manufacturer of cement sold in California, which is produced through the use of hazardous waste- derived or tire-derived fuels, to inform the purchasers and consumers of the cement of that fact through the use of a material safety data sheet and label that contains specified information. Requires the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to report to the Legislature by January 1, 1998, concerning the safety or risks of human exposure to cement produced through the use of hazardous waste-derived or tire-derived fuels. (Died in Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee) AB 1947 (Battin-R) - Hazardous Materials: Local Regulation Provides that when a city or county adopts or amends an ordinance related to acutely hazardous materials, it shall do so at a noticed public meeting and shall state its reasons for adopting or amending the ordinance in the ordinance. Requires that the notice for the public hearing shall be in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the affected city or county. Chapter 980, Statutes of 1996 AB 2088 (Alpert-D) - Hazardous Waste: Recycled Material Revises the definition of "recycled material" by excluding an intermediate manufacturing process stream (e.g., material is used onsite in the manufacturing process to produce a commercial product and the material is not recyclable) from regulation as hazardous waste. Also makes a corresponding change to exclude the discarded material (resulting from the intermediate manufacturing process stream) from the definition of waste. Chapter 579, Statutes of 1996 AB 2102 (Rainey-R) - Hazardous Wastes: Gypsum Substitutes Clarifies that calcium sulfate-rich materials (i.e., synthetic gypsum) that are produced by power generating facilities and that can be used in a commercial application without prior treatment as a substitute for natural gypsum is not a hazardous waste under state law. (Died in Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee) AB 2163* (Rainey-R) - ASARCO: Removal and Remedial Actions Appropriates $1,810,539.32 from the General Fund to the State Lands Commission for the purpose of funding the obligation of the commission and the state for its final share of the costs of remedial and removal action on state lands at the ASARCO site pursuant to a consent judgment. (Died in Senate Appropriations Committee) AB 2202 (Baca-D) - Household Hazardous Products: Reusability Authorizes a public agency to conduct a materials exchange program in which hazardous materials in containers, which are received by a household hazardous waste collection facility from households or conditionally exempt small quantity generators, could be offered to the public for reuse. Chapter 647, Statutes of 1996 AB 2507 (Ackerman-R) - Corrective Action: Cost Recovery Establishes a set of conditions that the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and local agencies must meet when they charge oversight fees for supervising a cleanup project and requires SWRCB to submit a report to the Legislature on the costs of implementing the bill as specified. Chapter 607, Statutes of 1996 AB 2559 (Setencich-R) - Used Oil: Dielectric Fluid Provides that used oil shall not be managed as a hazardous waste if the used oil is dielectric fluid which is removed from oil-filled electrical equipment that is not spent and that is filtered and replaced, onsite, into electrical equipment during routine maintenance activities and that is managed in accordance with federal requirements. Vetoed by the Governor AB 2620 (Morrissey-R) - Point Source Dischargers Establishes a prohibition against requiring waste dischargers to meet water quality standards that are stricter than standards established under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act except when stricter standards are otherwise required by federal law or when "newly discovered" contaminants are found that require regulation because they are hazardous. Establishes a second prohibition against requiring that wastewater that is being discharged from a facility be of higher quality than the water supply used by the facility. (Failed passage in Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee) AB 2776 (Miller-R) - Hazardous Waste Management Provides for an omnibus measure that makes a number of minor changes to various requirements in the hazardous waste laws. Also grants the Department of Toxic Substances Control expanded authority to determine how the requirements of the hazardous waste statutes will apply to hazardous waste management activities by giving the department the authority to issue temporary class variances from those statutory requirements and to adopt regulations exempting those activities from statutory requirements. Chapter 999, Statutes of 1996 AB 2965 (Firestone-R) - Underground Storage Tanks: Loans Transfers $8 million from the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund to the Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Financing Account for expenditure by the Trade and Commerce Agency in the 1996-97 fiscal year for the purpose of making loans to small businesses. Provides that this transfer supplants, and does not supplement, transfers made pursuant to Item 2920-101- 0439 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 1996. Makes a statement of legislative intent regarding funding for the loan program in future years. Subjects enactment upon the enactment of SB 562 (Thompson). (Died in Senate Appropriations Committee) AB 2971 (Olberg-R) - Mojave Water Agency: Groundwater Cleanup Provides that, if the Mojave Water Agency undertakes to cleanup groundwater contamination underlying lands within its jurisdiction pursuant to an approved remediation plan, that undertaking will not impose any additional cleanup obligations under other laws. Chapter 518, Statutes of 1996 AB 3160 (Olberg-R) - Toxic Chemicals: Private Actions Clarifies the authority of the Attorney General to intervene in a private action brought to enforce Proposition 65 (the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986) and creates a rebuttable presumption that the action being brought is not in the public interest. (Failed passage on Assembly Floor) AB 3198 (Rainey-R) - Hazardous Waste: Storage and Consolidation Allows a remedial action consolidation site, as defined, to be operated without a hazardous waste facilities permit, if the hazardous waste transported to the site is a bulk non-RCRA hazardous waste soil or related debris generated in the course of a specified type of removal or remedial action, the remedial action consolidation site is operated by, or on behalf of, the generator, and specified requirements are met with regard to the management of the hazardous waste. Specifies related responsibilities of the department. (Died in Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee) AB 3433 (Bowen-D) - Low-Level Radioactive Waste Makes a statement of legislative intent concerning the recovery and reuse of tritium and requires any person licensed to possess tritium as defined, who generates low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) containing more than 500 curies of tritium per year, to recover and reuse the tritium that would otherwise have been disposed of as a waste. Requires a licensee to submit a plan to the Department of Health Services (DHS) for tritium recovery and reuse as specified. Requires DHS to make a determination as to whether or not there is a facility in the US that accepts recovered tritium for recycling. If such a facility is identified, requires DHS to notify licensees who must comply with the provisions of the bill or face a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 per day for each day that the violation continues. Prohibits the intentional conversion of unreacted (waste tritium gas) into liquid or any other form for purposes of disposal as specified. (Failed passage in Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee) AB 3474 (Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee) - Hazardous Waste Recycling Makes a number of technical, nonsubstantive amendments to the hazardous waste recycling laws with the following exceptions: 1. Allows hazardous waste recycling without a hazardous waste facilities permit even if the storage time before recycling is longer than 90 days if the longer time is authorized by statute or regulations consistent with federal requirements. 2. Exempts unintentionally mixed fuel from regulation as a hazardous waste if the mismixed fuel is recycled at any type of petroleum refinery into fuel or other refined petroleum products. Chapter 433, Statutes of 1996 AB 3475 (Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee) - Environmental Laboratories Requires that on or before June 30, 1998, the Department of Health Services shall propose regulations governing acceptance and approval of private third-party laboratory accreditation organizations, and provides that recognition of third-party laboratory accreditation shall commence on or before December 31, 1998. Chapter 747, Statutes of 1996 AB 3476 (Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee) - Inspection Frequency Requires each department, board, or office within the California Environmental Protection Agency in consultation with local government to adopt regulations to implement a reduced governmental inspection frequency program for facilities meeting the criteria established for good compliance performance. (Died in Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee) AJR 60 (McPherson-R) - Safe Drinking Water Act Memorializes Congress to pass legislation to reauthorize the federal Safe Drinking Water Act with provisions that define and recognize the needs of small water systems, provide states the flexibility by which to tailor monitoring requirements to meet local needs, authorize affordable compliance alternatives, facilitate compliance, recognize the states as the primary enforcement authorities, and allow for adequate compliance time. Resolution Chapter 30, Statutes of 1996